Monday, April 8, 2013

I have this no bake clay for a while now. Most of you would be familiar with the term air dry clay, but it's the same thing actually. Some people also call it "no bake clay".

I love testing out new stuff and today I am going to review the Tamiya Lightweight Clay.

The first touch of the clay is crucial and probably one of the most important aspect for me when it comes to trying out new clay. By touching and feeling it between my fingers, I can assess its basic properties. I then try to relate the texture to the popular brands of clay and see if there is common ground.

My first reaction when I touch this clay is that it is extremely similar to the Hearty Clay texture. Perhaps this is a really fresh pack, so it feels really soft and wet.

After kneading it for a little while and pressing it, I'll still say it's similar to Hearty Clay.

I love to do the "press test" to have a better idea of the clay characteristics.

The "press test" is really a guide for me to understand how the clay works and reacts when I press hard onto it. When the clay crumbles when you press on it, it doesn't mean the clay is no good, although many people may have this wrong perception. For me, I think about the possibilities of how I would use the clay to my best advantage.

The Tamiya Lightweight Clay comes in white colour. But for this testing purpose, I've added some ochre colour to it just so that it is easy to differentiate.

See how the clay reacts when I pressed it. Both clays hold well and doesn't crumble. It is smooth and there are no cracks too.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

For this week's Give Me The Goods, I'm pleased to present you my fake macaron pop, which is sometimes also called the macaron lollipop.

Basically it's a macaron presented on a lollipop stick! I really had fun making these...

I started making one a little while back, and gave away my first piece to a friend who just loves macarons.

The way I made it for the lollipop version is a bit different because of the stick size. I had to consider how the cream filling would hold up. After a few versions, I think I found the best way to do this.

I'm fascinated with this because I've seen how these are being used a lot in wedding or birthday tables decor. A few of this being presented in a nice jug or cup just makes a difference in your table presentation.

The best of it all is probably the fact that it can be used again and again. No ants or insects would come to bite on it, since it's not edible. Use them over and over again!